DVD Makers Agree on Recording Formats

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The 10 electronics heavyweights bringing digital videodiscs to the masses said Wednesday that they have agreed on a pair of standard formats for allowing the things to record - a crucial element if DVD is to replace videotape as a must-have consumer product.

While rewritable DVDs were always in the cards, the manufacturers had been dragging their feet in introducing the feature, mostly due to copyright and piracy issues. The so-called DVD Forum appears to have accelerated its timetable out of recognition that DVD will be slow to catch on in the US market without recording capability.

John Segrich, an analyst at Gabelli & Co., said DVD can now find a foothold among consumers who may be otherwise wary of technology upgrades after throwing out their records for CDs, and chucking their videotapes for laserdiscs.

"The recordability issue really does change it," he observed. "If I can mix my own favorite songs, and maybe throw in a movie, that's probably sufficient for people to make the jump to DVD."

However, some technical hurdles remain. One of the agreed-upon formats is for something called DVD-R, which would allow one-time-only recording of up to 133 minutes of high-quality video or audio. Closer to VCRs in practicality is the other new format, DVD-RAM, which would allow for multiple use, but would store only about an hour of video information.

Needless to say, until the DVD-RAM technology is capable of handling a full-length movie or an entire sporting event, it will be unable to knock the VCR from its perch beside the TV.

Toshiba, which is spearheading the DVD Forum's joint efforts, said in a statement that specifications for the new formats will be released soon. It said the accord will play a positive role in expanding the potential of DVDs as a medium for large storage capacity.

The other companies in the group are Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Mitsubishi Electric, Philips Electronics, Pioneer Electronics, Sony, Thomson Multimedia, Time Warner, and Victor Company of Japan. Last week, the companies said they would begin licensing DVD technology to other manufacturers, allowing for large-scale production of players, discs, and related equipment.